1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for removably positioning a magnifying lens on a visor or brim of a hat or cap, and more particularly, the magnifying lens is removably positioned with a holding member that permits the interchangeability of lenses with different magnifications.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are headbands in common use that are used to position a magnifying lens. A headband magnifier comprising a one-piece headband where the back portion is disengageable so that the headband is movable between an at rest position and a compression position is known. This headband magnifier, that provides a holding member that facilitates interchangeability of the lenses, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Design 359,060, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,548,841 and 5,727,251. All of these patents are assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. These headband magnifiers have been used in activities such as reading classified ads, stock reports, newspapers, magazines, phone books, dictionaries and maps. Crafters can use headband magnifiers for quilting, sewing, hand beading, woodcarving, lace making, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, painting, stamp collecting, leatherworking or any other craft where magnification of an item is desired. Additionally, students can use the headband magnifiers for field work, fossils and lab research. Also, professionals can use headband magnifiers for close-up work, for example, circuit boards, rework, assembly, dental, manicures/pedicures, inspection, schematics, cosmetic, tattooing, hair transplants, parts inspection, watch repair, drafting and electrical work.
Flip-Focal, Inc. of Paramus, N.J., sells a device under the trademark xe2x80x9cFLIP-FOCALxe2x80x9d in which a magnifying lens is pivotably attached to a clip. The clip includes a pin and pin backing, inserted both through the clip and a visor, to secure the clip to the visor. Also, Edroy Products of Nyack, N.Y. sells a device with a magnifying lens pivotably attached to a link, which is in turn pivotably attached to a spring clip for the illustrated purpose of clipping the magnifier to a pair of eyeglasses. The Edroy Products device is sold under the trademark xe2x80x9cOPTICAID.xe2x80x9d
Also, it has been known in the past to provide a visor and eyeshield assembly having at least three adjustment points, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,640 (hereinafter the xe2x80x9c""640 patentxe2x80x9d). The ""640 patent emphasizes that this combination visor and eyeshield must be able to protect the eye from direct and indirect sunlight, accommodate eyeglass wearers, fit well for people having different facial contours, be able to accommodate those who wear different hat sizes, be able to accommodate those with different hat-wearing habits, and be fashion sensitive. ""640 patent, col. 2, Ins. 30-35. The ""640 patent also discloses a visor and eyeshield assembly consisting of a cap used to secure a visor to the wearer""s head, an eyeshield used to protect the wearer""s eyes from sunlight, and a mechanism for securing the eyeshield to the visor in the form of a base, sliding member, and pivot joints. ""640 patent, FIG. 1 and col. 5, Ins. 42-48. Additionally, the ""640 patent discloses visor and eyeshield combinations that include a sliding member and a pivot joint that can be moved up or down, and backwards and forwards. ""640 patent, col. 1, Ins. 40-50.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,916 discloses a sunglass assembly for attachment to a visor or brim of a hat or cap. A pair of parallel rails attach the sunglass to the visor, and a pair of slides allow translating the sunglass forward and backwards along the parallel rails. Further, the sunglass is pivotably attached to the slides to flip from horizontal, out of the user""s line of vision, to an essentially vertical position relative to the user""s eyes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,124 discloses a sunglass/wind shield goggles eyeshield assembly for a cap visor, with a clip for detachably mounting the sunglass/wind shield goggles assembly onto the visor. A slide block slides forward and backward in the clip body to adjust the position of the sunglass/wind shield goggles eyeshield assembly. The eyeshield is pivotably attached into and suspended from the slide block, allowing the eyeshield to be rotated into and out of the field of view. U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,916 is incorporated herein for all purposes.
However, none of the above patents or products disclose a two adjustment point magnifier removably mounted on a visor where a magnifying lens can be slid forward and backward to adjust the position of the magnifying lens in combination with pivoting the selected lens into and out of a viewing position in front of the user""s eye to magnify an object, much less a three adjustment point magnifier. A magnifier with at least these two adjustment points, i.e., slide/pivot, that is attached to a visor or brim with a spring clip allows the magnifier to be easily removed from the visor or brim of the hat or cap so that it can be used on other caps. Also, none of the above sunglass/eyeshield assembly patents allow for interchanging of lenses of different powers of magnification for magnification of an object.
According to the invention, a clip or other device having an upper positioning member and a lower positioning member is provided for removably attaching a magnifying lens to a visor or brim of a hat or cap. A carriage having a sliding portion and a supporting portion is provided so that the sliding portion is positioned for sliding movement relative to the lower positioning member. The carriage supporting portion extends below the lower positioning member. Additionally, a link having a first end and a second end is pivotably positioned with the supporting portion of the carriage. Alternatively, the first end of the link could be fixed with the supporting portion of the carriage, or the supporting portion could be elongated and substituted for the link. A holding member comprising a horizontal member connected between opposed members is preferably pivotably positioned with the second end of the link. The holding member is designed so that spring forces grip the sides of the magnifying lens. The holding member is movable between a rest position, a gripping position to grip the magnifying and a flexed position to facilitate removal of the magnifying lens. The magnifying lens is removably positioned with the holding member to allow replacement of the magnifying lens with other lens having different powers of magnification.